How to: Make your own solid side moldings.

[Hellstorm]

Ok so i got tired of looking at my crappy side moldings up on my front bumper, and decided it was time for a change. Well i was looking at the prices on the jdm solid side moldings and nearly died when i saw how expensive they were. So i decided i would make my own. This way i could make them fit perfect to my car. Well if anyone has been keeping up with my car, its being painted right now so its the perfect time to do this. Well here it goes.... this is for anyone who cant afford new ones, and wants a custom fit, and has access to the materials from which mine were made.

What you need:

Masking tape.
Body filler.
A piece of thin metal to cut from.
3 nuts and bolts
A light putty.
Primer.
40, 80, and 400 grit sand paper and a block.
About a days worth of work.

I started off by taping off the area that I was working with. I layed down 4 layers just to make sure when i was sanding, i wouldnt go through into my paint. I also taped off the side marker and put it in place.




Now a cut a scrap piece of aluminum i had to match the size of the space where the molding would go. You can use whatever youve got access to for this piece. Its mostly for structural support.


Now i poked holes through the tape where the bolts go in.


now take a Marker and put the piece of metal in place and mark the back side through the bolt holes.


Now go drill the holes. I also half way drilled out a bunch of spots to give the body filler grooves to fill in.....to stick better to the metal.


now take three bolts and nuts and attach the piece into place. Tighten it down good. Youre going to need to bend the piece of metal as well to conform to the curve of the fender.





Now lay down some paper below the taped area because the body filler will drip on your bumper and mess up your paint.


Now apply a large amount of filler. Youre going to have to work it in place and keep it in place while it sets up.



now take a razor and clean up all the excess on the edges. Be carefull and dont cut through the tape too and into your paint. You must do this BEFORE THE FILLER FULLY HARDENS!



Now take a block and some 40 grit sand paper and start sanding it flush with the body.






Now you might have low spots like me so i needed to apply more filler and repeat the whole process.






Now remove the piece. Should pop right out by pressing on the bolts.






Now take some 80 grit sand paper on your block and sand down the egdes straight or curved or however your bumper flows.






Once you get it sanded down how you like, its time to primer it. After you shot the primer, apply a light putty to fill in any pits or scratches in the filler. Then once youve sanded that flat with 400 grit and water, prime it again. Keep sanding and priming until youve got a smooth surface. here is how my driver side turned out when i was done. Its exact fitment to my fender and bumper and is completely flush and perfect once tightened down! I love it! Its ready to paint!




Finished (PERFECT) product:

[Davis]

That's awesome!

[Dance_Business]

Great work. I am impressed.

[MR2 Drifter]

I would do that if I wasn't lazy

[mr.asian.m2]

thanks.. i'm going to try that this weekend.

[honda_bar]

Originally Posted by MR2 Drifter

I would do that if I wasn't lazy

I will second that

[Hellstorm]

HAHAHA....THanks guys.... now stop being lazy and do this ****!

[Sylvan]

Hey, cool man. I was skeptical when I saw the first few pictures, but the end result looks great. I might end up doing this to my car on the back bumper and the side vent pieces, since I haven't ordered those yet.

[Raptor13x]

Not a bad writeup at all.

[Hellstorm]

Originally Posted by Sylvan

Hey, cool man. I was skeptical when I saw the first few pictures, but the end result looks great. I might end up doing this to my car on the back bumper and the side vent pieces, since I haven't ordered those yet.

hahah... yeah... its an ugly process, and i wasnt to sure about it until i got to the part where i cleaned up the edges. Then i was like, oh ****, this is actually turning out real nice. Im going to finish the piece i was working on in these pics tomorrow. I did the driver side yesterday.

[nutty1]

you da man!!

[mr.asian.m2]

i just did mine today. damn...that is some hard work on my arm. alot of sanding dude. but, it turned out pretty good. i like it alot. tomorrow. i will start on the primer and then paint. i post up pic once i have mine done.


thanks alot for your great idea.

[Hellstorm]

Originally Posted by mr.asian.m2

i just did mine today. damn...that is some hard work on my arm. alot of sanding dude. but, it turned out pretty good. i like it alot. tomorrow. i will start on the primer and then paint. i post up pic once i have mine done.


thanks alot for your great idea.

cool man, Just make sure you use some light putty. And get it on there good, or you are going to be shooting alot of primer to make it smooth. If you have any pits in the filler that are too deep, just go ahead and add a little bit of filler in that spot and sand it flush. And make sure you use some GOOD quality putty. Cheap stuff will expand with heat and you will get bubbles. Guaranteed. Post them pics!

[Basement Digital]

Wow... This is great. Any pics of the finished product painted/completed?

[phantomMR2]

very nice job. the only thing i have to say about it is that bondo isnt made for a lot of impact. so eventually its going to start cracking and breaking. but for a short period of time..i'd say a year or 2 it will be fine. if you go this route and want to use some type of filler .... i'd recommend the short hair fiberglass filler..-it's like purple or something. it takes longer to sand but in the end is more durable over the years for the abuse front bumpers take. so get your shape and when you are getting to the last stage of smoothing use bondo.
Other than that..wow what a thread.

[Hellstorm]

Here are the finished pics! Enjoy!

[Sylvan]

So.. did the car survive the hurricane?

[eckoman_pdx]

End result a few posts above looks good. I'd like to see pics of it painted back on the car. I'm also interested how it holds up over the long haul, since filler isn't the most durable of products. Please keep us posted on how it holds up!

[masagsxr]

Awesome writeup!!!

[Hellstorm]

Originally Posted by Sylvan

So.. did the car survive the hurricane?

Yeah it survived, surprisingly enough to me, considering my **** luck with this car. That hurricane did plenty of insane damage here though. They're still hauling off debris around here.

Originally Posted by eckoman_pdx

End result a few posts above looks good. I'd like to see pics of it painted back on the car. I'm also interested how it holds up over the long haul, since filler isn't the most durable of products. Please keep us posted on how it holds up!

I dont understand why people keep saying this. Its not like its a moving part on the car. It just sits there. Granted, it holds part of the bumper on, but if its tightly secured, there is still no movement. I dont think anyone will be hammering on them either? In our Metal Stripping shop, we've pulled filler off of 30 year old cars that was still in good condition. I think it will do JUST FINE. Ill let you guys know otherwise though.